Seesaw
by SilverStarShine94
Summary: When one brother rose, the other fell. ItaSakuSasu.
1. Rise

**Seesaw**

...

_When one brother rose, the other fell. ItaSakuSasu_

...

* * *

Huffing, Sakura glanced over her shoulder with the edgy air of someone committing a terrible crime.

The two story house was firmly placed on the hill - made of the golden-red sandstone popular in the area and completely and utterly unthreatening. The entire thing was tucked snugly into the woods around it, so hidden that it almost had to be tripped over to be found. There was a garden too; filled with fragrant herbs, one sloping apple tree and surrounded by a charmingly clichéd picket fence.

Not the kind of place anyone would expect an infamous, parricide committing, mass murderer of an S-class criminal to live in.

And here she was - hands shaking like a leaf in the wind, cold sweat trickling down her spine despite the warmth of the late spring afternoon, the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention like a line of tiny toy soldiers. She was only here because she was the only one to volunteer. Someone had to do it. Her feet - crammed into cute white broderie anglaise sandals - seemed to be attached to the ground in front of the gate.

Closing her eyes, Sakura took a deep breath. She had faced him in battle before, even though it hadn't actually been his body, and survived unscathed. Now he was completely blind, and supposedly repentant - secretly on their side the whole time. Her knees knocked together when she tried to take a step and she half stumbled through the gate - wincing as her shoes clicked unnecessarily loudly against the paved path and announcing to anyone in the area that she was here.

The few steps to his door seemed to be horribly long - her hand tense around the handle of the basket she had brought. Combined with the comfortable, light red, civilian dress she had chosen on whim for her 'day off', Sakura felt faintly ridiculous. Little Red Riding Hood in the woods on her way to meet the Big Bad Wolf. Sakura actually felt grateful that Uchiha Itachi would not be able to see and comment.

Lifting her fist, she knocked twice. Brief, concise; she was calm and in control.

A few tense seconds passed before she heard a faint masculine voice. "Come in."

Her hand seemed to freeze on the doorknob - the faint imprint of her fingers crushed into the metal in her nervousness - before she twisted it with a faint click and pushed into the warm hallway. A thick, tribal woven rug sprawled from the door to a small staircase with doors on either side. Sakura stood stiff at the threshold - not daring to venture further into the seemingly innocuous dwelling until she could see him. Her free hand sought a kunai.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Itachi asked, moving forward slowly towards her from the room behind the staircase - as though approaching a shy deer that would leap away at the sign of any sudden movement.

His eyes were as black as a bleak inner horizon, as a dark, burning star on its last legs. "You know why I'm here." Sakura said, keeping her tone heavy in contrast to his light pleasantness - still refusing to move from the doorway.

He walked a few measure steps forwards, gait smooth and still vaguely predatory. It was all she could do not to drop the supplies she had brought and launch herself into the brilliant, beautiful day. Stopping before her, expression bland, the faintest hint of a smirk quirked the edge of his thin mouth. His eyes were as black as a bleak inner horizon, as a dark, burning star on its last legs, but when he tilted his head slightly the light caught them in such a way that they almost seemed scarlet.

Maybe that was why she felt compelled to take a step back.

"I would not have a guest feel so nervous in my own home."

"I'm not!" Sakura hissed back, mortified by his mirth, but betrayed by the slight tremor in her voice.

Kami knows how he could tell - from her chakra perhaps - or because she had moved ever so slightly further away from him. She proffered the basket filled with food, a book on philosophy that she had skimmed on the way here, and a few other necessities. Obviously he could not see her do this - although she was sure he could tell and was not reacting in a sadistic method of prolonging her discomfort.

Well, it wasn't like he got many visitors.

"Here," she almost snapped, feeling more than a little hysterical at this point.

He still moved slowly, almost sensuous in a way that made her skin crawl. His fingers brushed hers slightly as he accepted the basket. "Thank you," that note of amusement she was sure she had detected previously still seemed present.

"Goodbye," Sakura choked, voice as brittle as dry twigs.

She refused to show him her back - and walked out without turning around before bolting off with the tattered rags of her dignity trailing behind. When she risked a glance behind her, she was sure she could see his hand raised in a polite goodbye.

Their encounter had not shaken his composure in the slightest.

...

Still shaken almost half an hour later, Sakura paused at the door of her apartment building and tried to calm herself.

Sasuke would notice in an instant if she was unsettled and she did not, under any circumstances, want to tell him where she had been - who she had visited. Taking another deep breath, she pushed the door open and walked slowly up the stairs - feeling the familiar slide of the wooden banister comfortingly beneath her fingertips. Sasuke was already in, but had probably only got in from training with Naruto not that long ago.

And sure enough, his hair was still damp from a recent shower when she sashayed in and made her way over to where he was sitting on the dark blue couch. In his hands she could see the familiar sight of his favourite book on fire jutsu, the pages dog-eared and curling from the attention.

He didn't look up when she entered the room, but Sakura chose to take that as a sign of trust. She was not a threat. She placed her hand on his cheek, tilting his face to give him a gentle, welcoming kiss. He yielded to her - dark eyes flitting shut for a moment - but stiffened when she began to pull away. A warm, rough hand came up to hold her wrist almost tightly enough to bruise.

"Sasuke," Sakura began, questioning note in her voice.

"Where were you, Sakura?" His voice was tense - eyes hard, black stones.

"The market, Ino's, that's all," her voice stayed measured even as she lied.

He believed her though after a brittle second when she thought he might push harder, but he seemed to accept her answer. Sasuke released her wrist, allowing his hand to trail down the length of her forearm in a small gesture of reparation.

"I just thought you smelled... odd. Nothing more," he rubbed a hand across his forehead in exasperation, "I'll request another mission; sitting around here..."

"You've been training all day though," Sakura said, affectionately running her hand through his thick, damp, inky coloured hair, relieved by the change in subject.

He moved away, dismissively, and her mouth twisted just a little bitterly before she could stop it. "It's not the same as a mission."

Sakura sank into the couch beside Sasuke - near delighted when he lifted his arm and gently manoeuvred her to lay her head on his chest and press her body up against him. He resumed reading in lieu of starting a conversation, but Sakura was fine with avoiding any chance of broaching the subject she did not want him to find out about - ever. After around twenty minutes, the encounter with Itachi was completely wiped from her mind and she finally felt completely relaxed as she breathed in Sasuke's clean, if slightly ash tainted, scent.

"Hm, I should go and get something for dinner," Sakura, said reluctantly - stretching like a cat.

Sasuke said nothing as she stood and began to get ready; slipping her shoes back on and primping her hair in the mirror. Just as she moved to open the door his voice sounded from behind her, though he made no move to get up.

"Didn't you get anything when you were at the market?" Sasuke asked, voice soft but with a steely undertone that sucked the air from her lungs.

She leaned against the door for support as she pulled it open.

"I got... totally side-tracked by Ino," Sakura said, turning back and smiling at him, "But I'll be quick. Love you, okay?"

He said nothing; face as blank and pale and smooth as a Noh mask. Sakura had to press her back against the wall when she escaped to the hallway to stop her knees from buckling.

...

"I won't go again, Shishou."

Her statement was obviously unwise because Shizune quickly slunk from the room afterwards. Sakura stayed strong and unbending - meeting her mentor fully in the eyes. Tsunade was silent for a moment - the calm before the storm - and took a long, savoured drink from her ever present sake bottle.

"Was he violent? Did he threaten you?" She asked, bottle almost at her lips.

When she didn't answer Tsunade slammed her sake bottle so violently on her desk that it cracked a little around the top. Her gold eyes narrowed in a way that promised a typhoon of anger following - two high spots of combined fury and alcohol already present on her cheeks.

"I had though my apprentice was taught to be strong! Not some cowering little girl whimpering at the first sign of discomfort! He needs a medic, and so Kami help me, he is _not_ our prisoner. If I find out that you have treated him with anything - anything! - less than the utmost kindness, care and respect I'll have you strung up from Hokage Mountain by your tongue - do you understand me, _Sakura_?"

Sakura stayed perfectly still. Interrupting Tsunade in the middle of one of her tirades was tantamount to a death wish. She appeared to calm, sinking back into her seat and taking another long draught.

"And, unlike Sasuke, he has never wavered from the orders of Konoha", that stung, Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but was stopped by the unusually melancholic expression on Tsunade's face," We could not ask for a more loyal shinobi. He suffered for the sake of this Village and the Elders intend to integrate him back into our society. It will take time, and he may never be accepted, as you are aware."

She took another long drink. The silence was so brittle Sakura felt as though she could snap it with her bare hands. Anger stormed through her from head to toe. After all he had done to Sasuke - the years of mental torture were most certainly not _orders_ that was for sure - they were still welcoming that murderer back with open arms.

"Give him a chance, Sakura, that is all I ask. You - of all people - have never lacked compassion."

Sakura left silently her hands still squeezed into tight fists. She recognised an order when she heard one.

...

She felt far more ready to face Itachi dressed in her full shinobi gear rather than the flimsy civilian dress she had chosen last time. Her fingers caressed the hilt of a kunai - anger simmering in her stomach as she knocked the door.

Itachi pulled the door open for her this time rather than have her open it herself. His eyes stared sightlessly into the trees for a moment before they slid downwards to focus on her despite the fact that she hadn't spoken.

"Did you enjoy the book?" He said, by way of greeting.

"How did you...?" He must have smelled her on it - felt the faint imprint on her fingers on the pages, the light crease on the spine that wouldn't have been there had it never been read. Sakura paused, considering, "What little I did read of it was good."

Her tone was so casual it sounded forced. Both of them - Itachi and Sasuke - truly had unnatural senses. She had to be careful. This entire situation could crumble on her like a house of cards at the slightest disturbance. He nodded - a minute gesture she might have missed had she not been watching him like prey eyed a predator in their midst - and courteously stood aside, holding the door open, to let her in.

"I did not catch your name last time."

Sakura winced at the reference to her previous cowardly exit, "Haruno Sakura, Uchiha-san.

"Ah, I had thought I recognised your chakra signal. You are my outou's teammate, correct?" His casual tone made her defensive. She wondered if he was fishing for any information in particular. Still, she refused to step inside.

"I'm his girlfriend and his teammate, yes," she added with some pride, hoping the additional information would ward him away.

He simply inclined his head and remained silent until Sakura felt she was forced to speak again.

"I have some forms for you to fill in and... I need to give you a check-up," she dragged her words as a sullen child dragged its heels, reluctant to step into his domain.

"If you like, you can read the book while I fill out these forms." His thoughtfulness made her want to scream.

She moved inside and tried not to jump when Itachi gently closed the door behind her. The tiny hallway felt claustrophobic - his nearness made her hackles raise. He brushed passed her to walk into one of the rooms that lead off from the hallway and an electric shock seemed to leap through every cell in her body. He smelled exactly like Sasuke. Like thought made bile rise to the back of her throat.

"I would... like that, I mean." She struggled with the words, tongue thick with revulsion.

He nodded. Silence spread through the room like smoke. Sighing minutely, she shifted the basket to the other arm before following him into what turned out to be a kitchen. A plate with a half-eaten stick of dango and a steaming mug sat on the table indicating that she had interrupted him in the middle of a meal.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," Sakura said, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

"Not at all," Itachi answered, voice measured and even, "I would not be adverse to you joining me."

"No thank you, I'm not hungry."

Her stomach chose that exact moment to let out an ear-splitting growl. She winced as he smirked, and put the basket down on the table with a soft 'thump'. Shishou's words rang in her ears, scalding hot. She swallowed and smiled tightly - more for her benefit that his own.

"In fact, that would be lovely," she said, slipping into the seat.

As though he had anticipated her change of heart, Itachi already had a plate with the sticky dessert in his hand and placed it carefully in front of her. For a moment she was jealous of the amount of grace he possessed - engrained in every fibre of his being - before he sat down and his knees brushed hers. Sakura snapped her teeth together so tightly a stab of pain lanced along her jaw. She stared hard at the table as though to see through it to where they were now firmly touching. Itachi was perfectly relaxed, but he also seemed to be waiting... for her reaction perhaps.

He seemed to be testing the water between them. Seeing how far he could push her - just like Sasuke.

She took a deliberate bite out of the dango and reached for the book between them. He flicked through the forms idly - the slightest spike of chakra alerting to the fact that he was using one of his few approved jutsu to read through a kind of chakra absorption. She was a little vague on the details, but the jutsu involved him spreading a small amount of chakra across the paper and almost absorbing the characters on it allowing them to be read.

The silence was stretched as taunt as a drum skin - ready to burst at any moment. She ate quickly and efficiently - keeping her eyes on her food or the book and studiously ignoring the warmth that seeped from their point of contact. Sakura refused to move backwards - that would be showing yet another sign of weakness that her ego simply could not tolerate. They both finished around the same time. The plates were collected without a single word spoken.

Itachi turned his back to her to face the sink. A movement that displayed a trust that didn't sit right with her in the slightest. Her teeth gritted together like two shards of shattered porcelain.

The sleeves of his slim, long sleeved black top were rolled back to the elbows to expose his strong, pale forearms and slightly damp hands as he dipped his fingers into the lightly steaming water.

"I'll dry," Sakura muttered, grudgingly, standing.

They stood in an almost companionable silence were it not for the way Sakura avoided touching him at all costs as they passed the dishes between them. He methodically cleaned and when she found her eyes following the tracks the soap suds made across his skin she suddenly became very interested in the blue pattern on the town she was using to dry.

When it came to giving him a check-up, Sakura reluctantly followed him upstairs to his bedroom - more than unwilling to enter such a private space. First, she checked his vitals; heartbeat, lungs, kidneys, liver... This was easier than she had expected - the familiar cloak of Medic-Mode making the entire interaction far smoother. Then, he lay down on the bed without complaint and allowed her to probe his eyes for a good half an hour.

She hesitated at this point - sure for a moment that he might suddenly leap up and attempt to snap her neck. The stiff, corpse-like way he lay there put her on edge more than she would have liked to admit. His skin was surprisingly smooth to touch and she had to fight the sudden, lightning fast urge to run her fingers down the twin lines of stress on his face. The room was small and warmed almost to the temperature of blood - like sinking into a hot bath - she had to fight the desire to let her guard down even the tiniest amount.

The Elders didn't want his eyesight restored just yet - not until they were one hundred percent sure they wanted to welcome him back - but Sakura knew the process would take months if it could be done at all. She wasn't sure if she preferred him silent or speaking. The silence grated on her a little - she always wanted to fill it with conversation - but she disliked how soothing his deep, lilting voice was.

This time she showered and changed before Sasuke came home to avoid a similar confrontation as last time.

...

Itachi still managed to seep into their conversations, their interactions. Although, if she truly thought about it his shadow had always been cast over them. Sasuke slept restlessly, or not at all.

"I know he's still alive, still, even now - and I know he's near Konoha," He murmured one night, hands tented behind his head - glaring at the ceiling.

She rolled over and watched him with guarded eyes, asking "who" although she already knew.

"Itachi," he hissed the word, tasting each syllable on his tongue.

Sakura considered her own response as he rolled away from her - presenting her his lean, pale, bare back. "They - Shishou, the Elders - say it was an order," she said, quietly, lying perfectly still.

The faint, eerie red glow that just tainted the air of the room told her in no uncertain terms that his Sharingan had activated from strong emotion. "Only a monster would kill their own family for any reason. Order or not."

She kissed him between the shoulder blades - feeling the muscles as tense as a bowstring - and tucked herself around him. "Go to sleep, Sasuke."

Even so, she lay awake all night thinking about it. Her morals, her feelings and her mind wrestled until she was too tired to sleep. Questions danced behind her closed eyelids - taunting her into wakefulness.

...

"That's it - enough is enough," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively.

Sakura craned her neck to see around the mountainous piles of paperwork that decorated the desk. "What, Shishou?"

"I'm removing you from Uchiha duty, that's what, I can't stand seeing your sullen face after these visits. I'll send Nobu instead."

"Yes, Shishou."

Sakura tried to convince herself that the sudden, lead balloon feeling in the pit of her gut was actually relief.

...

A few weeks down the line, and she found herself standing in front of that little picket fence again - feeling every bit like a person about to begin an illicit affair.

...

* * *

First chapter dedicated to my favourite creeper - TwistedInABottle.

I suppose I have my English class, and the book Master of Ballantrae to vaguely thank for the beginning spark of this fic. There will probably be just one more part to this. Perhaps two.

Kisses,

Silver ~ x


	2. Fall

**Seesaw **

* * *

...

Nobu would not be here today - she had checked, and double checked, and triple checked.

The basket in her hand was almost full to bursting from all the last minute shopping she had done - had needed to do. Sasuke had been watching her - she had felt his eyes burning her skin as she perused the white-washed shops and chatted pleasantly with the shopkeepers about their families, their day. He had noticed something off about her demeanour that morning - when she was unable to muster a smile upon waking, when - distracted - she had burnt the breakfast and broken a plate, and when she had not directly answered any of his questions.

Sakura was urged forward by his actions if anything, rather than shamed into retreating. She knew he was distrustful by nature, and accepted it, but that didn't mean that it did not grate on her. That, and the choice of company he had been indulging in of late.

Uchiha Itachi was not the only person forgiven by Konoha after peace had fully settled across the Villages.

The refugees from the former Sound had poured in like water through a burst dam. Sakura did not grudge them seeking out a place with far better prospects - one of her most trusted colleagues in the hospital was from Sound, after all. However, she did grudge one or two that had wormed their way into places she would rather they stayed away from.

Karin, and her wine coloured hair and eyes, had slipped into their lives like a shadow. Though Itachi remained the unspoken, often unseen elephant in the room, Karin was most certainly the solid, brick wall wedging its way between them. Sakura trusted her like she would trust a snake in a rabbit's den. She was always there; sitting on the floor with her dainty, coral painted toenails tucked under her giggling self, offering to help clean the dishes, bringing her own cookery to the table, training with Sasuke...

And no matter what Sakura said - to Sasuke or Karin - she was fast becoming a permanent fixture. She had begun to feel like a third wheel in her own home.

Naruto didn't understand it - he was quick to welcome everyone - and Ino simply didn't see it, didn't see the looks Karin threw from beneath her wine coloured looks when she thought no one was looking, the way she danced her fingers across Sasuke when she thought no one else could see.

And, so, Sakura turned, half in spite, half in desperation, to the one person who Sasuke hated above all others. Not because she had actually began to enjoy Itachi's company. Not at all.

Lifting her hand, she knocked gently on the door and listened intently. Almost instantly, it swung inwards. As though he had been watching and waiting.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Itachi asked, as he usually did. His preference for routine always threw her off though she replied as she always did, too.

"You know why I'm here."

In an instant, everything fell into place. As though she had not been away for weeks without a word. The moment she shut that door behind her and toed off her shoes the world outside of the picket fence melted like butter in the heated glare of the sun.

He turned and casually slunk in the direction of the kitchen, carefully holding the door open for her as she grudgingly followed. At times it seemed as though he was not completely and utterly blind, and - had she not known he was - she would have been easily fooled. The kitchen was warmed by the sun that streamed through the single wide, curtainless window. There were no curtains, or blinds in the entire house; he had no need of them.

Sakura stayed at the far end of the room, which was difficult considering how small it was, and pointedly stared at the roughly hewn stone walls until he decided to speak. She had long since learned that there was no use rushing Uchiha Itachi. It simply did not work. Getting him to go at anything other than his own pace, or do something he chose not to, was like trying to get blood from a stone. A particularly stubborn stone at that.

"I'm sure I do not know why you are here - you no longer have orders," Itachi replied, finally, skimming his fingers across the mismatched cups that lined one of the many shelves," Tea?"

Folding her arms impatiently, Sakura made an irritated face although she knew he couldn't see it.

"It's about Sasuke," she bit out.

Itachi was silent; the clinking of the teaspoon against the edge of the mug and the faint whisper of their breathing was the only sounds in the tiny house. For a moment, Sakura wanted to scream at him in anger, to tear at her hair, and to fight with him as she would any other person. But, really, it wasn't his fault that she was upset - he just had a habit of compounding the problem.

"That is the only reason you come to see me, Sakura."

Sakura. Not Haruno. Not Haruno-san. Not even Sakura-san. Her anger melted away in an instant, only to be replaced by guilt twisted in her stomach, clawing like the talons of some great beast, before she could stop it. "I came - come - here to give you medical check-ups and deliver things," she said in a small voice.

He smirked sardonically.

She wondered if he was lonely - in this little isolated house all by himself with only her, Nobu, or Shishou's occasional visit. And she supposed he was used to it - to being isolated and alone - but that didn't make it alright. That didn't ease the ache in her chest. He handed her the mug of fragrant tea carefully, despite the fact that she hadn't asked or agreed to having one, with the handle facing out towards her so that she could grasp it easily... Although she was sure that holding it the way he was must be burning his hand slightly.

He always gave her the same cup - the one with the cherry blossom tree curling around the entirety of it; leaves and blossoms waving merrily in the breeze. She was unsure how he knew which one it was, but supposed he could feel the slightly raised pattern of the design.

"Thank you," she murmured, as she took it from him - careful not to brush his fingers with hers.

Itachi always initiated contact, although that fact would have surprised her months, or even weeks ago. Now he moved to lightly curl his arm around the crook of her elbow - leading her like a woman of noble birth over to the sturdy wooden table crammed beneath the window overlooking the woods. She didn't flinch at his touch as she so often had before - as she probably would again - so caught up in her guilt.

"You feel more tense than usual today, Sakura-san," he commented, face expressionless.

An irrittable grunt was her immediate answer - although his concern and attention to her raised more apprehension than anything else.

Sliding into her seat, she cast the thoughts of a quick visit into the back of her mind. Sasuke would be horrified if he knew she was here at all, Sakura thought absently, toying with the engagement ring that now rested heavily on her finger. The rich, buttery gold suggested a shockingly high carat value, but it simply didn't suit her skin tone - silver had always looked better on her. A dainty pink diamond glittered on the top, and on the inside the crest of the Uchiha clan was painstakingly engraved.

"I haven't had a very good day, that's all," Sakura said, irritably, when the silence stretched longer than she might have liked.

He nodded minutely before taking a small, measured sip of his own scalding hot tea. "You could tell me about it, if you wish."

"This _isn't_ a social visit," she snapped, more harshly than intended - her nerves frayed to a dangerous level.

The sardonic quirk of his lips made the guilt come crashing back like a tidal wave and she stumbled for an apology before thinking that he perhaps didn't deserve one. But he did, she reminded herself; he had suffered hugely and silently for many years. But he had also tormented Sasuke for as long, and certainly unnecessarily at points. Biting her lip she mulled over the old debate - apologies and insults gathering black and acidic on her tongue.

"Nevertheless, I appreciate your company."

He did not dispute the fact that this was completely and utterly a social visit. There were no longer orders. Though he pushed her; with his touches, the way he looked at her; he never pushed her so hard and so sharply that she would leave and never come back. Itachi's presence was simultaneously magnetic, soothing and repelling - it pulled her to and fro between attraction and revulsion, but never too hard in either direction.

She told herself this was the last time she would be here, even as she deliberately folded her legs - drawing one bare calf up the length of his long, lean leg just to see if she could get a rise.

...

"Do you know, Sakura? That they actually _want_ Itachi to come back?" Anger seeped from his every pore.

Sakura carefully transferred the last of the tomatoes to the plates, keeping her back to him, "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"That isn't what you said days or weeks ago," his breath, hot and moist, curled along the back of her neck - far closer than he was seconds ago, "What happened to change that?"

"Maybe the former Sound." She tried to keep her tone light and failed. Sasuke let out a hiss of air before withdrawing, mouth opening and closing with a snap.

"I'm going out."

Sakura turned to face his retreating back.

"But Sasuke -"

The door slammed with enough force to jar the paintings on the wall and effectively ended the conversation. Sakura looked down at the two perfectly presented dinners she had spent half the afternoon making - irritation crawled over her skin like a thousand insects, anger snapped at her thoughts. She didn't want to think about where he had gone. Turning, she marched into the bedroom and pulled open her wardrobe with almost enough force to wrench the doors off.

Slowly, deliberately, she pulled that light red summer dress from its hanger and stared at it long and hard.

Tossing off her clothes she pulled it on, alone. Only the dress separated her skin from the elements. She put on those same white, sandals and picked up her basket from where it sat propped next to the door. Slightly calmed, she wrapped the plates in Clingfilm to keep the heat in and placed them in a basket with a few of the sweet cakes Hinata had brought over the other day.

Stepping out into the late afternoon sunshine, Sakura smiled placidly, peacefully, and continued until she reached the woods. The dark shadows of the trees seemed to curl around and embrace her as she stepped into the cover of the foliage and Itachi didn't seem at all surprised to find her at his door.

Again.

...

"Sakura... turn around," Sasuke's voice was domineering in a way that used to excite her.

She did - hackles raised, ready to fight - and instead she found herself staring at the ground where he knelt at her feet.

"Marry me."

The ring was a perfect fit. The most beautiful shackle she had ever seen.

...

And the very next day, she went to see Itachi again.

She visited almost every day, except those when she had a mission, or was too busy from the hospital or training and she only went when she was sure Nobu would not be there. Sakura was sure that only Itachi knew about her visits and she preferred to keep it that way. Usually they just sat and talked - about books, chakra, philosophy, anything - and ate whatever she had brought with her. The last few times she had been persuaded into a quick spar, without chakra.

To say that he was still highly skilled was an understatement.

Although she usually acted reluctant to take part in a spar with him - secretly she looked forward to them. There was something about the way he fought that put her on edge almost in a good way. She had known him to be a mid-range fighter, but with her it was always close. There was nothing in his expression that ever suggested anything untoward, but the rippling of his muscles against her briefly as she tackled him was enough to make her knees turn to jelly.

The slide of his hands against her as he twisted her wrist just hard enough to hurt and the brief triumphant smirk that flitted across his pale patrician features almost melted her even as the thrill of battle roared through her blood. He had always been the enemy, overtly, but Sasuke had been the same in some way; they were never on the same side, or the same level. With Itachi, at least, she felt they were on equal ground.

Today they sat in the kitchen together - knees pressed unashamedly together. The topic of conversation; the capability of the Sharingan.

Placing her hand down with an audible 'thud', Sakura animatedly answered, "And, imagine, if those chakra paths were activated... It's a medical marvel! "

Itachi's reaction was not at all what she expected. He froze, fingers gripping the handle of cup so tightly that the china cracked under the pressure, eyes narrowing though he could not possibly see her.

"Itachi?" Sakura asked, hesitantly, unnerved by the icy atmosphere that had enveloped them in an instant.

He relaxed minutely, but slid one hand across the table so slowly that he seemed to be asking permission. She stayed perfectly still, save for the one hand lightly moving to brush her kunai pouch, but all he did was envelope her left hand in both of his own. For a silent moment she was perplexed, as he gently cupped her fingers in his calloused ones - rubbing them in a way that was almost soothing if she could ignore who was doing this.

Then she realised it was the engagement ring he was seeking and it felt like all of the air had been forcibly removed from her lungs. He must have recognised the sound of it hitting the wood of the table.

His fingers ran gently across the metal over and over again as though seeking to imprint it on his skin. "I wouldn't have thought gold would suit you."

She didn't know how he could tell just from touch.

"It doesn't," she answered, quietly, trying to ignore the goosebumps trailing up her arm and willing him to stop touching her.

She left shortly afterwards - her excuses as flimsy and paper-thin as she felt after their encounter.

...

A few weeks slid by until autumn was just beginning to approach before she found herself dipping into the woods again - not having been there since that last episode.

Karin's presence had become ever more pervasive. Like ivy she crept further and further in - slowly strangling Sakura's relationship from the inside out. The new paintings in the wall were Karin's choice - Sakura smelled her perfume in the air rather than her own. Feeling suffocated, her feet almost found their own way into the woods this time. Her red dress was well out of season now - the chill of the shade making goose bumps break out on her arms - but it felt right to wear it.

She brought the first autumn fruits of the season with her as a way of apologising - she knew he loved sweet things.

"This is a social visit." she said, by way of greeting and apology.

Stepping inside into the blanket of his silence and scent she toed off her shoes and smiled a bright smile.

His arms drew up as though to embrace her, sliding around her shoulders until her nose was just touching the fabric of his shirt. Sakura remained very still before looping her arms tightly around his slim waist, burying her face tightly into his shirt with her eyes snapped shut. Just at that very moment, she felt cool metal touching her neck - heard the click of a clasp being snapped closed - and realised that Itachi had actually been placing his necklace around her neck.

A hot blush flamed across her cheeks in a raging inferno as she felt her stomach drop to her toes. An insistent voice in the back of her head hissed that she was a betrayer. What would Sasuke say if he saw her welcome his hated brother with open arms? Saw her fingers brush affectionately over the metal now clasped around her neck. Sakura was unsure of whether the mortification or guilt burned more.

"I am pleased you like it so much," Itachi deadpanned, holding himself stiffly in her embrace.

"Ah, yes, it's lovely," Sakura muttered, cheeks still aflame, giving him a half-hearted squeeze to give herself time to try and compose herself.

Of course Itachi wasn't the type to hug anyone. Especially not her, despite the unfulfilled tension between them. She stepped back - irrationally sure that for just a moment as she drew away, he had encircled her with his arms. It didn't matter anyway, she thought, clearing her throat awkwardly and taking another step to increase the distance between them.

"If I could see you," he began, not a hint of bitterness in his voice when she was sure had she been in his situation she would have been consumed by it, "I am sure the silver would suit you much better."

"It always has," Sakura agreed, wishing for a mirror, but knowing that he would not have one.

...

Bygones will never be bygones in the Uchiha Clan. That was one thing Sakura had learned.

Of course she knew what Sasuke would explode when he saw the necklace draped over her skin. And he did. And Karin was there to paw at him - shooting her looks that almost overflowed with glee. Sakura was wholly unrepentant and refused to explain.

She felt his lips - cool and soft against her neck - and noticed the way the mattress dipped to accommodate his weight. She knew he had chosen her neck on purpose - wanting to mark her there in order to dispute what he saw as Itachi making a claim. She wasn't sure if he was or not - although the idea made her hair stand on end in an emotion that was most definitely not negative. The necklace remained against her skin - no matter what he said Sakura would not remove it.

"Not tonight, Sasuke," she sighed heavily, voice conflicted.

"I'm going to finish it, Sakura," Sasuke said tightly, hands gripped together so viciously that his knuckles turned bone white. "He should have died the last time."

...

Fear rising up to choke her, Sakura found herself in the restricted area beneath the hospital.

Mist swirled around her feet as she stepped into the chilled vault she had been seeking and she prayed that no one would ever find out what she had done. Even so, she couldn't find it in herself to regret it.

Itachi didn't come and find her when she crept into his house at night. Little Red Riding Hood willingly seeking the Big Bad Wolf. She supposed it was another sign of trust that he allowed her to walk straight into his bedroom. Or he was indulging her foolishness. Only his eyes opened to look at her - two bright points of light like fireflies streaming through a cave - and he did not speak.

"Do you trust me? She whispered, clasping the jar in her hands tightly. "We removed these from Danzou just before he died", she stared at the eyeballs that seemed to follow her movements from within their liquid haven, "And I think you know what I mean when I say that."

"This is forbidden." Itachi said, quietly, each syllable measured and cool.

The room was spartan, clean and crisp from the perfectly arranged books to the snow white sheets. She approached him with several jerky agitated steps as he drew himself up on his elbows to regard her through the thick, dark curtains of his hair. Sakura wanted to pull it and run her hands through it in the same instant.

"Sasuke is going to break the rules anyway," Sakura snapped, teeth clicking together, "And I want you to have a chance. I do."

She ran her thumbs across the delicate skin around his eyes - feeling her own vision mist and blur with moisture until all she could make out was shapes and faint variations of light. Itachi drew himself back into a sitting position slowly not doing anything to deter her hands until she began to push healing chakra to her fingertips. Itachi closed his eyes, brows creasing.

"This seal would detect if you did anything - if you so much as healed a paper-cut without permission - and you would become a missing Nin. _You know that_, Haruno-san."

Turning he pressed a lingering kiss to the inside of her wrist, the movement juxtaposing sharply with his formal use of her family name - heat lancing to her very core from that single touch. "And I would not have another go through with that life."

"I don't want you to die!" Sakura half-shouted, hands fisted so tightly in the sheets that the fabric creaked in protest.

Itachi looked at her calmly, but his eyes burned like banked coals.

"I will not fight my outou again. I refuse to damage him further."

Sakura made a furious gesture, "But what if you don't get a choice?"

He didn't answer, instead moved to grip the jar with the grotesquely spinning eyeballs within. Sakura curled at the side of the bed - face half buried in his sheets with her feet tucked underneath her like a lost child. The ring on her finger bit into her skin.

"There is nothing in Konoha for me, there has been nothing for many years now," Itachi murmured," Save for you."

He placed the jar in her hands. "If we do this, we both must leave."

In an instant, everything else fell away. She nodded - sealing her fate with a single small movement before beginning the procedure. It took all night - peeling his own eyeballs from their sockets without damaging the delicate tissue around them, reattaching the new ones and making sure that every single nerve was fully operational. Just as the first ray of sunlight crested the horizon, Itachi opened his eyes fully.

His eyes scanned her face like a man dying of thirst would regard an oasis - the onslaught of emotions that flickered across his face was almost too much for Sakura to handle. Like a burning sun, warmth drew her in and scalded her simultaneously. At the first touch of his hands she was lost - the first skim of his lips across her palm, over each finger, trailing up her forearm to her neck. He was fascinated by every freckle, every movement, every sigh. Sakura felt as though she had been burned to ashes and then reborn. Like her own eyes were also finally cleared.

She left the ring behind.

Little Red Riding Hood lost in the woods, Big Bad Wolf nowhere to be found.

...

* * *

Well, that's this finished! Super fast, I know, but I just wanted to get the words from my brain to typed before they disappeared.

Thanks for reading!

Silver ~ x


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